Bexhill United and Little Common enjoy SCFL wins – and Pirates are proud of effort at Bognor

Bexhill started the week with a superb 1-0 league win away to high-flying Crawley Down Gatwick.

A 75th minute penalty from Pirates’ captain Tom Vickers was the pivotal moment in an excellent team performance.

Boss Ryan Light said: “We changed the shape of the side on Saturday and it worked very well.

"It took us about 20 minutes to become comfortable and we rode our luck at times, but once we settled I felt we were comfortable winners.”

In midweek Bexhill lost 6-1 at Bognor in the county cup quarter-finals with Tom Vickers scoring a fantastic goal.

Light said: “It was a brilliant night for everyone connected with the club, despite the inevitable scoreline against a team of that quality – it was great to see us playing in a Sussex Senior Cup quarter-final for the first time in the club’s history.

"I couldn’t be prouder of my players. It was a 125-mile round trip on a Tuesday night with 12 players available – we didn’t once give in and we kept running.

"The scoreline got away from us a little in the second half as we began to tire, but Bognor didn’t have things all their own way, with us spurning at least four excellent chances before Tom Vickers’ stunning strike form 30 yards eventually gave us the goal I felt our performance deserved, albeit just a consolation.”

Little Common boss Russell Eldridge was delighted with two wins over Lingfield in four days – 3-2 at home then 1-0 at their place.

"We found ourselves in facing the same team in the space of four days, but we took maximum points,” he said.

"On Saturday we made the game more difficult than it needed to be after a leading 2-0 at half-time. In the second half we didn't manage the game well enough and let them back into it, then going down to 10 men we showed good desire to gain the points.

"On Tuesday, at Lingfield, it was a resolute performance and nice to keep a clean sheet in the process. We’ve won five of our past six games in a demanding time both physically and mentally."